What’s right and what’s wrong at Burbank Airport: Letters

In response to Larry Wilson’s column March 18, “Burbank Airport: don’t you dare change a thing,” I couldn’t agree more with his overriding concern about plans for a replacement terminal at Bob Hope Airport. We will not change what makes the single most accessible, user-friendly airport in the world so great: easy access, convenient parking and boarding flights from the tarmac, to name just a few.

However, even with these benefits, we can no longer ignore the terminal’s age, size and proximity to the runways ─ the closest of any commercial airport in the country. Our challenges go beyond concerns about faded carpets and harsh lighting.

Besides the older portion of the terminal not meeting current earthquake design standards, the terminal is not environmentally or energy efficient. Case in point: We must rely on 105 antiquated air conditioning units because we have no room for a central plant. The terminal doesn’t have room for a loading dock so trucks must unload their deliveries in front of the terminal, bring them through the passenger areas and then process them through the same TSA screening area used for passengers. Terminal B passengers can retrieve their bags indoors but Terminal A passengers must retrieve them outside the building which can be nice on sunny days but is not so nice on cold, windy or rainy days.

The most frequent comment I hear from Burbank residents and other airport users is they understand the need for a better terminal but “don’t screw it up!”

As the “Breadbasket of Europe,” a name it earned many years ago, Ukraine stands at a crossroad between East and West Europe. The rapacious rulers of Russia would not give it a second thought were it not for its strategic position on the Black Sea and its many rich natural resources.

Advertisement

I commend the U.N. Security Council members who brought to a vote the resolution against Moscow’s takeover of Crimea, even when they knew it would be vetoed by Russia. It graphically showed the stand the U.N. is taking against Putin’s efforts to extend Russia’s power over all former Soviet Union members.

I also wish to thank your newspaper for your recent supportive editorials and other articles about my native Ukraine’s heartbreaking crisis.

— Doris Daria Olynyk, West Covina

Whittier demands access to city’s own Nelles site

Whatever development occurs on the Nelles site will permanently affect the city of Whittier. Important decisions have to be made. Full transparency to the public is crucial.

By not allowing access to the site, the city and the state are asking the public to participate in the decisions without a full understanding of what is at stake. They point fingers at each other saying the other party is blocking public access, when in reality it seems that neither party wants anyone to have access to the property so decisions can be made with minimal public involvement.

I believe the city can force the issue and allow organized access to the site so the public can know what is behind the fence. If they allow studios to film movies and television shows on the site, you can not tell me that it would be too difficult to arrange a tour for the public.

Once the site is developed, we are stuck with it. How can we make a decision without knowing what is truly there?